What charges do they face?
Court records say the charges were presented on Wednesday by a Montgomery County grand jury.
Foley was indicted on a dozen counts: attempted unlawful interest in a public contract, three counts of complicity to commit unlawful interest in a public contract, two counts of theft in office, one count of unauthorized use of computer, cable or telecommunication property, and misdemeanor counts of solicitation of political contributions from public employees and prohibition against partisan political activity.
Piergies was indicted on three counts of attempted unlawful interest in a public contract. The allegations against Piergies relate to his son’s employment, according to Auditor of State Keith Faber.
John Paul Rion, an attorney representing Foley, said his client “100%” denies the charges against him. Rion said Foley was chosen as the nominee for the Republican party, and the filing of these charges at this time seems strategic given the upcoming fall election.
“This is an ongoing case and we will fully cooperate. I look forward to the opportunity to defend these charges. These charges have nothing to do with the daily operation of the office,” Foley said.
Who investigated these allegations?
The case is being handled by the Ohio Auditor’s Office, led by Faber, a Republican. Montgomery County Prosecutor Mat Heck Jr. recused himself to avoid a conflict of interest.
The Special Investigations Unit of the Ohio Auditor’s Office began an investigation after receiving an anonymous complaint in October 2022 concerning solicitation of campaign contributions from employees and other political activities, among other allegations, Faber announced Wednesday.
The investigation led to a raid in November 2022 at the Montgomery County Clerk of Courts office when a search warrant was served.
Foley said on Wednesday that he and his office have cooperated with every step of the investigation since it began.
His office on Wednesday was closed and locked as early as 3:43 p.m., nearly an hour before its posted office closing time. No one answered a knock at the door and the buzzer directed a Dayton Daily News reporter to voicemail.
What are other public officials saying?
Foley is up for re-election this fall. His Democratic challenger, Lynn Cooper, said Wednesday’s indictment was a sad day for residents in the county.
“Even the hint of corruption in a public office, especially the clerk, the keeper of our courts’ records, casts a dark shadow on our whole community. The citizens of Montgomery County vote with implicit trust in their elected officials to represent them with integrity and unshakable principle.”
Both Montgomery County Democrats and an Ohio state lawmaker called for the resignation of both Foley and Piergies.
“I would request and I would recommend to both of them to step down to restore people’s faith in the courthouse and the justice system,” Montgomery County Democratic Party Chairman Mohamed Al-Hamdani said.
State Sen. Niraj Antani, R-Miami Twp., released the following statement: “Rooting out public corruption is incredibly important. No corrupt politician should stay in office. While I believe everyone is innocent until proven guilty, this indictment raises to the level that these officeholders should resign. Citizens in our region deserve ethical public officials.”
The Montgomery County Commissioners said Wednesday they are aware of the indictments.
In a statement, the commission said: “Voters entrust elected officials with representing our county’s interest, without personal gain. While they sincerely hope these allegations are false, the County Commissioners will fully cooperate with the Auditor of State’s investigation requirements.”
What’s next?
Foley’s attorney said Foley will enter a plea of not guilty to all charges at his Aug. 15 arraignment.
The Special Investigations Unit of the Ohio Auditor’s Office was appointed to serve as special prosecutor in the case. The investigation remains ongoing, according to the state auditor’s office.
